2025 Cadillac XT5

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There is an all-new generation Cadillac XT5 coming very soon. At least in China.

And after 8 years, I was expecting more. This just looks like a very tame (which is only one latter way from “lame”) redesign. Maybe I was spoiled by the illustration (bottom) I posted here a few weeks ago.

The current XT5 has been Cadillac’s best seller for a few years, but with only 26,808 sold last year, it has fallen behind its competition. Especially the Lexus RX which sold over 114,000 units last year alone! And under 27,000 units for a best seller is a bit sad…

Cadillac announced a couple of years ago that all new Cadillac models introduced in the US would be EVs. They probably thought the Cadillac Lyriq would pick up where the XT5 left off since after incentives, the Cadillac EV is just a few thousand dollars more than the old XT5. But that didn’t happen since GM ran into delays after delays and various problems with manufacturing and delivering the Lyriq. To make things worse, many owners have been complaining about similar problems to the ones that caused the stop sale order on the Chevrolet Blazer EV. (So far there has been no stop sale order on other GM EVs).

Sales went up for 2023 and Cadillac was able to get over 9100 of them out of the door. If they don’t encounter more problems, it’s reasonable to assume numbers could match those of the old XT5 in a couple of years. But that could be too long for GM to wait, especially when there’s an all-new XT5 in another part of the word, ready to go. I am sure there is a strong push within GM to introduce the new generation in North America after the current XT5 stops production later this year.

Currently, the XT5 is available with a 2.0 Liter Turbo or a 3.6 Liter V6. It seems GM has been replacing their super smooth V6 with newer versions of the 2.5 Liter Turbo or 2.7 Liter Turbo. Both large 4-cylinder engines with more power than the V6 but none of its smoothness.

I guess that would be the case for a possible next-generation XT5 in the US as well.

While the exterior is a bit of a letdown, I am sure the interior is really nice. All new Cadillac models have had wonderful interiors (except the ones with goofy dashboard-length screens like the Escalade IQ and Celestiq).

What do you think? Should Cadillac sell the next XT5 over here?

Its direct competitor in the US, the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus is getting a new generation In North America, although it is built in China and is now an import.

Should Cadillac import the XT5 from China?

Conversation 3 comments

  1. Besides yourself, I don’t think anyone actually thought it was going to be anything more than a restyled vehicle with some powertrain and suspension upgrades.

    Cadillac is moving full-steam ahead with transitioning to EVs and is taking big styling swings on their Ultium platform offerings while updating their existing ICE models to serve as a bridge to the brand’s EV future until costs are brought down.

  2. I’m not an EV GROUPY, so they are out of the picture for me.
    I had an XT4, loved it except it needed more power-bigger engine as in 2.7L Turbo.
    So as of was looking forward to an upgrade to the XT5 and you are going to put a stop the the gas version.
    And thanks for informing me the NAUTILUS is going to be an IMPORT.
    That’s leaving me out of any type of Luxury vehicle.
    But Cadillac, WHY WOULD YOU UPGRADE THE XT5 FOR CHINA AND NOTHING FOR THE USA???. That totally doesn’t make sense to me!!!
    You just put me out of the Luxury Car Market— THANKS FOR NOTHING!!!

  3. I think Caddy would be silly if it didn’t bring the XT5 to NorthAmerica. They’re missing an ICE version in this size. I agree that it looks particularly generic in that white color, like they stretched the current design language over the same old bones and it came out looking downmarket like a CRV. If they had started with a new design like the illustration, which is very Mazda surface detailed, it would look much more elegant. I find Cadillac’s EV designs look tortured.

    Generally, they’re in the same group as VW, Acura, Audi. They’ve declared they will make no new ICE designs, and only EVs from here, only to wind up NOT being able to make more EVs due to issues, or sell the ones they do make. So now they’re caught. They’d all be wise to get on the hybrid/PHEV train as quickly as possible, or they may not have more chances to produce EVs in the future.

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